


Small Talk

by ahunmaster



Series: Office AU [182]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Office, Babies, Babies' first time to a party, Background Relationships, Children, F!Tailgate - Freeform, Family Drama, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Gender Bender, Genderbending, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, One Shot, Triplets, but i just don't want to miss anything, this seems like a lot of tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-21
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2020-12-27 20:27:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21124748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahunmaster/pseuds/ahunmaster
Summary: The triplets are still too young, but Cyclonus and Tailgate don't have any other options.So it's off to the company gala with three babies, two strollers, and several baby bags in tow.





	Small Talk

"Oh~! Cyclonus, hold them there! I just need to grab my phone!"

This was ridiculous. This whole idea had been ridiculous. This party was ridiculous considering they had just had one for the end of the 2nd quarter this year.

But no... There had to be a summer gala. A mandatory event for everyone to attend. And since they had trouble finding anyone to watch the triplets, Tailgate decided it should only make sense to dress them up and bring them to the party.

And to no one's surprise, the sight of triplets in cute suits and dresses only got everyone's attention on them. Which only made Cyclonus's night that much more frustrating to get through.

"Hey Cyclonus! Nice photo op you've got going!" Cyclonus ignored Whirl as he laughed and snapped more photos of his boss and his children sitting on one of the seats by the buffet table. The one eyed amputee had been nothing but an annoyance all night, having not stopped laughing since the moment Cyclonus and his family had walked through the entrance with three babies, two strollers, and three heavy baby bags in tow.

He wasn't wrong. Tailgate had given everyone nearly free reign to snap photos of them and their children (Cyclonus had to put a limit on certain photos and flash) and nearly every time he turned around to do something, someone was there with a phone snapping away.

At least the majority of the party had stopped after the first 20 minutes of them getting there. Most had been just content to adore the triplets and their confused stares at everyone. They had their afternoon nap and the gala had started early, so they would be fine for a few more hours so long as they didn't get upset. Their favorite toys and blankets had kept them happy when they were a bit overwhelmed.

Of course, that meant he and Tailgate were often carting the three around with them when speaking with everyone. And the only thing anyone would ever talk about was their beautiful triplets.

Cyclonus knew this was supposed to be a 'fun' gala. There wasn't supposed to be business talk or anything serious to be negotiated at this. But it didn't stop him from wishing someone would talk about anything other than his children.

Tailgate and a few other people had finished snapping their last photos as Noxide began to grow fussy in his father's arms with his siblings.

"Oh, do you want Mommy, sweetie?" Tailgate quickly went into mom mode as she pocketed her phone and picked up the struggling baby from his father. Almost immediately after Noxide was picked up, Powerline began wailing for his mother too.

"There, there. Mommy's got you honey!" With no hesitation, Tailgate had the other boy in her arms as she cooed them both, leaving Cyclonus and the quiet Cybel watching them from the seat.

Cyclonus didn't want Tailgate to stress herself out trying to comfort their sons. But they liked her better than him and it was a little less stressful for him to have his quiet daughter snuggling into his grasp than his loud sons.

"Having fun, Cyclonus?"

He nearly slid his daughter off his lap as the CEO walked up next to them. "Sir, I-I didn't see you-"

"It's no problem at all. Please." Megatron motioned the other to sit back down, "I was quite surprised when I saw that you had brought your kids."

"It wasn't our first choice, but with her father in the hospital for observation and everyone else busy, we didn't have a choice but to bring them."

"They are quite well behaved for- they're one now? Two?"

"We just celebrated their first birthday two months back."

"Ah, yes. Bombrush showed off the photos from the party," Cyclonus silently cursed Bombrush under his breath, "I didn't think they would make an official appearance until they were much older like we were planning with the twins."

"I was against it, but Tailgate insisted a few hours would be fine as long as they didn't get too fussy and stayed with us. And with no one available, I did not wish to leave my wife alone with the children nor let her worry about us if one of us stayed behind."

"They seem to be adjusting well to the party. I think that's the first time your triplets have acted out all evening."

At least Noxide and Powerline had. Cybel was still in his arms just watching him. At least all the bright lights and flashes from the cameras hadn't affected her too much.

Cyclonus looked away from his daughter for a moment to look at his wife at one of the food tables. The boys had quieted down some and were trying to reach for the shiny objects on the table while his wife held them at bay, speaking with a co-worker he didn't recognize from his department. It was still mind boggling watching his petite wife easily handle the fussy one year olds while still holding a conversation with this woman. Even handling a quiet Cybel while talking to his boss was draining.

"Your wife seems to be handling them rather well."

"Yes," Cyclonus adjusted Cybel as he watched Tailgate flawlessly return a plate to the table Noxide had picked up and was now keeping him occupied with a cracker from the table while rocking Powerline to sleep while still talking to her co-worker.

"And you seem to be handling your daughter well too."

Cyclonus had to resist the urge to look at the calm Cybel. He had no idea how to explain his daughter's easy nature when she was with him. He supposed one could say it was the whole dynamic of sons preferring their mothers and vice versa (he tried not to think of Whirl's comments about Mommy's boys and Daddy's precious little girl), but it still didn't explain him and Cybel. Babies, from what he had read, like more open and affectionate people. It was how their survival instincts kicked in; those who react are more likely to help care for the helpless baby.

So why was Cybel always more inclined to want to be with him over her caring and affectionate mother? At this point, Cyclonus could only imagine that with the boys taking most of Tailgate's attention and priority with their own demanding needs, Cybel had simply turned to her father for... baby needs and such.

"Tailgate tried to raise them all with the same amount of attention."

"Worried she would feel like she was neglecting one of them?"

Cyclonus turned to his boss who had grabbed a flute of wine from a passing waiter. He wasn't sure how to answer the question, knowing all too well that even with books and baby blogs and all, there really was no right answer to that.

"You don't need to answer Cyclonus. Raising a kid is hard and have more than one is difficult."

"Was your wife worried as well?" Cyclonus asked before he could stop himself, "My apologies-"

"She was," Megatron sighed, "Eclipse was so worried that if she didn't give them both the same amount of attention and love, one would grow up to hate her or some other personality issue that they scare mothers with in those damn books."

"... I had to get Tailgate to stop reading them when she wouldn't stop crying over weird diseases that she might have to test our babies for."

"Eclipse kept asking Knock Out about the tests. He was so fed up with trying to figure out what those tests were that he actually came into my office and told me to do something about it."

"How bold of him." Cyclonus responded as Cybel began to try and jump off her bottom, clearly getting jittery about something at the party. Calmly, he helped her stand up on his leg as she reached out to hug him.

"Looks like your daughter is getting a little fussy as well." Megatron noted as Cyclonus reached into one of the bags to pull out a small ball, "Do you want to take her into one of the side rooms?"

"I think she'll be fine for the moment. We might take them to the back to relax a bit once we have to change them." Cybel took the ball from his hands, but she seemed more determined to snuggle into Cyclonus's face than anything else. Perhaps she was getting too fussy from all the noise and lights. But at least she wasn't crying. Cyclonus was able to handle her better than her brothers, but he was not as good of a parent as Tailgate.

"If you wish, I could set up some sort of service or area for the children to play in during our next big event if it will make babysitting easier for you. I'm sure Eclipse wouldn't mind bringing our twins to play with your triplets while we enjoy a party."

"...I'll have to discuss it with my wife. Tonight was just a one-time thing and I'm not sure how the children will handle being looked after by someone they don't know just yet. Even Bombrush and Soundwave need one of us in the room with the kids or they start to fuss."

"So he's told me at least a dozen times already. You do realize once they're more familiar with him, he's going to take them to every event possible to show them off?"

Cyclonus could feel his frustration growing as Cybel started patting his cheek as if to calm him down. "Doesn't he have his own son to show off?"

"Diskdrive is old enough that he gets bored easily. Also, it's cuter having babies to show off. Bombrush's words, not mine."

Cybel's patting was at least distracting enough from the headache he could feel coming on. Bombrush... was a relief when it came to caring for the triplets, but the man's fawning over the triplets was annoying. Yes, triplets were cute and all, especially when you dressed them up identically, but this was getting ridiculous. The man had practically set up a social media account for them (with Tailgate's permission, of course) showing off how adorable and all other manners of adjectives he used on the site.

"Oh! Hello, President Megatron!"

Tailgate looked flushed as both Noxide and Powerline fussed in her arms, thankfully not crying or screaming. Yet.

"I'm sorry, Cyclonus, but could you help me get the diapers and wipes? I think the boys have finally passed out their lunch."

"Hold on," Cyclonus adjusted Cybel enough so he could grab the bag with the diapers in it. "Here."

"Maybe we should check Cybel too. Has she been getting fussy too?"

"She's been a delight, Miss Tailgate," Megatron joked as he watched the parents juggle the triplets and the bag, "Do you require another hand?"

"Oh, please...Mr. President, we're alright."

"Are you sure? You look like you need another person to hold the triplets and the bag."

"No need! We've been doing this a while, ah, sir!"

Megatron sipped at his wine as the two quickly got themselves together to make the trek to the bathroom. "It was nice talking with you Cyclonus."

"And you sir." Cyclonus only spared a glance at the man as he juggled two bags and a now more fussy Cybel in his arms as the young family made their slow journey to the bathrooms in the back. Tailgate was doing a wonderful job saying hellos and apologies to other guests as she navigated the group seamlessly through the party.

Megatron chuckled as he let himself watch the family disappear into the throngs of people. Well, at least they were dealing with the party and their children rather well. Hopefully it would be enough for him to get an idea on what to expect when he finally introduced his own children to the public.

But for now, he could enjoy the night off with his wife as a trusted supervisor watched the twins at home.

END


End file.
